“PREPARE: to make or get something or someone ready for something that will happen in the future. “
– Cambridge Dictionary
The Sparrow
Hey there! Thanks for dropping by. I started this blog a year into my pre-retirement downsizing. I’m in the zoo, but looking for the exit. It’s been a learning process (understatement) and I still have much to do.
Much of the pre-retirement advice I see out there is financial as if the money is rightsizing or the money is retiring. I think it’s the person that needs help preparing for the REALLY BIG change to an easier lifestyle. My goal is to inspire you to live an epic life on a small scale.
Pause here to learn why I think of us as Sparrows in a Zoo, or keep scrolling for an outline of what this site is about.
What's Next?
If you are like me, a thousand things shaped your life. When you were a kid you had a routine, an identity, and most of your decisions were made for you.
And then the twenties came and all that structure went out the window.
It’s taken decades to build the life you have an you’re proud of it. But what’s next? Maybe you plan to retire within the next decade and are doing the things the financial experts tell you to do. But are you prepared for retirement?
It’s the difference between planning to go on vacation (Costa Rica), and preparing for vacation (reservations, vaccines, and packing).
A retirement plan is just an idea; preparing during pre-retirement is the real work.
Reduce
Ever pack for a vacation and find out when you got there that you packed the wrong stuff? You ended up wearing the same pants four times, and the fancy outfit once. The new sandals were uncomfortable and you ran out of underwear halfway through your trip. You might think that carrying all that stuff gives you security, but it only adds to your stress.
Many people head toward retirement with two carry-on bags, three checked bags, and a sunhat. It’s hard to lug all that around and it limits your options. If it was a vacation, instead of taking the free shuttle bus, you hire an expensive taxi. Or you forego a side trip to the next island because you don’t know where to store all your stuff.
Traveling light into retirement increases your options (despite what Leonard Cohen might sing). Pre-retirement is when you do your packing.
ReThink
The appeal of retirement is that we hope to have less stress and more time. But what if you lived like a retired person while you were still working?
Retirement would feel less like an end to everything familiar and more like a continuation of what’s good.
If you live aspects of your retirement lifestyle now, you’ll better understand your expenses and be able to choose which adjustments to make before being forced to. You can fill in the gaps of your life to become more well-rounded before the gaping holes are all that is left of your day once work (or parenting) is gone.
It takes more than money to build a life.
Simplifying now will give you time to do things that you were saving for retirement, which means you get to enjoy them longer!
Retire
Let’s say you have all your ducks in a row and your finances look fantastic. Well done! But that doesn’t mean you’re prepared for retirement. The previous 20-30 years of your life took many twists and turns. The next 20-30 years will be no different.
Think of the people you know who are in their fifties or sixties, others in their seventies, and some in their eighties or more. Did the octogenarians change much since their sixties? What did they lose? What did they gain? Most people change a lot during retirement and the world changes around them.
What foundation can you build now in pre-retirement to sustain you through the many stages of retirement?
